Grand Bethel Girls- we're unforgetable!

The weekend following Supreme (August 13-15) was the Grand Bethel Executive Retreat to Michigan City, IN. Unfortunately not all of Exec was able to attend but we did have a good turnout. We drove up in 2 cars- one group of people who could leave early and another who left later. I left in the early car with Brittany and Lindsey. Tara, Becca, Raquel, and Brettney met at Fishers to head up north together.

So Brittany, Lindsey and I start off in my car. We decided not to take 465 since we'd have to go through 5 p.m. traffic and construction. We ended up taking Meridian north. We were about to make our turn and Brittany commented that we were only a couple of minutes away from her house. Suddenly, my oil light comes on and the car locks up. I pulled to the side of the road by the turn and coasted to a stop.

We called her dad to come get us and waited. It amused us that no one stopped to help us, or ask if we needed help. People even stopped back so they wouldn't be beside us or pulled up close to the car in front of them to avoid us. So we sat baking in the car with the windows down and no breeze. Then we see the flashing lights behind us. La policia. They checked on us and even followed us back to Brittany's. So we regrouped at Brittany's and started back on the journey. We checked in to the hotel at waited for the other car. We all went to dinner at Holly's restaurant which literally had every kind of food known to man. We went back to the hotel and played catch phrase.

The next morning we had breakfast and got dressed for the dunes. It was raining so we decided to hit the outlet mall first. It wasn't even cloudy by the time we got to the mall so we didn't stay there long. We picked up Subway, even cut across 4 lanes of traffic to get to it and took them to the beach with us. And Brittany had judged me for always carrying a cooler in the trunk of the car. Who was judging when we enjoyed cold sandwiches on the beach? We changed to our suits and found a nice place on the beach. We got into the water which was really cold but felt good since it was so hot. We laid out and tanned. Lindsey, Becca and I climbed a sand dune and slid down. Then Lindsey and I climbed the tallest dune, which was a victory. At the top I saw a lizard and got attacked by a dragonfly. The dragonfly, Schmegal,(not the creature on the Lord of the Rings) followed both of us down the hill and into the water. We joined the rest of our group in the lake but Schmegal followed us. We had to go underwater and splash to keep him away. After he finally left we stayed low to the water so there was less body above water for him to land on.

We left the dunes, showered and got dressed for dinner. We went to Shoreline Brewery and had an amazing dinner. We went back to the hotel room and played Whoonu- a cranium game. The next morning we woke up early and headed home. Brittany, Lindsey and I played catch phrase on the way home. I took my car in the next day to get it checked but everything came back fine.

It was a great trip and we had a good time. Here are some pics:

Jesus is the sheriff of this town

Yesterday was the Miss International Pageant and Rustie did a wonderful job representing Indiana. She looked beautiful on the stage and we were all very proud of her. Miss Brazil won Miss International which is amazing as she is the first Miss her country has had. She was very sincere and I think she will be a great asset to Job's Daughters.

I'm sure everyone by now has heard about Indiana's Supreme Bethel Officers, but...Rustie Mills got SBJP, Mahaley Orme got SB Rep to South Dakota and Lindsey Noland got SB Rep to Ohio. Tonight was the Supreme Bethel Installation. Indiana is excited for these Daughters in their new offices.

Today I spent the day with Becca, Lindsey and Mahaley. Kathy Cooper drove us to Garbanzo, an amazing Mediterranean Grill. Then she dropped us back in the Garden of the Gods. We walked from the Trading Post across the grass to the hills. We climbed and climbed. Unfortunately for Becca and I, Lindsey and Mahaley still have young lungs so they ran ahead of us. However, with age comes wisdom so we knew the negative consequences of falling down a hill and spent significant time testing and retesting our steps and path options. It was so much fun and the view was amazing. And at the end of the day, we can all say that we climbed a mountain.

Left is death

This morning Kathy, Trilla, Lindsey, Becca and I drove to the Garden of the Gods for a little adventure. The rocks were awesome. Lindsey, Becca and I went rock climbing and got to the top of a lot of the formations. We took tons of pictures along the way. Now here's where the story takes a turn. Left.
"You can never go wrong with left," Lindsey says.
Disagreed. So, as we're driving around the Garden of the Gods looking for sheep and the mythical roadrunner, we come to a fork. We headed left. We drive and drive and drive. Nobody told us that when you go left you leave the park and enter Pike National Forest. So we drove up and up until we reached the top of the mountain. It was crazy- we were literally parallel from Pike's Peak, not that high up but close. We ended up in Woodland Park, a town about 20 miles from Colorado Springs. Here's the thing, when you travel on top of mountains, it takes at least 2 hours to go that distance. We all survived and we all had a really good time.

We got back just in time for the All Job's Daughter Luncheon which was really good. They did ritual awards and Mahaley got 3rd place in 4th Messenger. Everyone was very proud. With no plans for the afternoon, Becca and I hit the pool for a few hours. We finally got some good sun before the reguarly scheduled afternoon storm hit.

I went to the Royalty get-together for Grand Bethel Honored Queens and Princesses before the Formal Banquet. It was nice to meet the other GBHQs and was actually fun. After the Formal Banquet was Formal opening. Madison and Mahaley did a great job carrying the Indiana and Bethel flags.

Tomorrow morning we have Supreme Bethel early early, Royalty luncheon, then Pageant.

-E

I hate to go N'Sync on you but...

So yesterday was awesome. We went white water rafting way early. We had to meet in the lobby at 6:45 for the buses. So we meet and waited and waited. Finally around 8 they let us know that there was not going to be enough transportation for everyone. So Mike and Trilla Noland drove Lindsey, Rustie, and Lyrray. Since Mommie Eli and Auntie Becca were chaperoning Mahaley, we all had to stick together. We caught a ride with a family from Oregon. They were nice and their daughters, Sarah and Cassie, ended up on our raft at Echo Canyon along with this guy Mike from...somewhere that Becca will have to tell me.

The rafting was amazing and we were amazing. We dominated. And contrary to the stories Rustie tells, Mahaley feel off the boat. Rustie wasn't even on the boat. I had to watch in sheer horror as Mahaley struggled to return to the safety of the boat. Mike, being the hero that he is, grabbed both her and Cassie and pulled them to safety. He had some difficulty pulling Mahaley back because she had unbuckled her top strap on her life jacket to conveniently remove the camera before tumbling into the level 4 waters. I anchored Mike, thus saving both of their lives. And while I hate to call myself a hero...

We got back to the hotel and grabbed some food. Then Becca and I laid out by the pool. Success! It got really cloudy and we knew that people were probably judging us because we would be judging someone laying out in an impending storm. (My mom's 2 cents: "Though I think you were laying out in an actual storm...I heard the thunder.") Either way, we kept checking and as long as you can see a shadow over your skin when you hold your hand between it and the sky...you're getting light. And we did. I figured with a 50% cloud cover, we're still 1 mile closer to the sun so it's like 30% more sun than we'd have in the same conditions in Indiana. Can't fight science. I fell asleep early last night and woke up early this morning for ritual contest.

I've spent the entire day as a ritual judge for 3rd Messengers, Senior Princesses and Novices. We just got finished and now I would be looking forward to laying out but it's thundering and cloudy. But if there's a shadow...

Mike the Headless Chicken

So I've already failed my mission of laying out every day. I'm having a little bit of trouble adjusting to the altitude here and spent most of the day sleeping. FYI Colorado Springs is just a little over a mile high. This morning we went to the Air Force Academy for church service. The building was amazing. We got to explore a little and saw the Jewish, Buddhist, and Catholic service halls. Then, as my Mom said, we ate at the officer's club which literally had every kind of food.

I wish I could then tell you all of the amazing things that I did after that but I slept for like 4 hours. It was a good time.

After my nap, my Mom and I went in search of a cooler for the room. We were unsuccessful until a lucky penny landed us at a Shell gas station where we found the perfect cooler. We went to the Supreme Guardian's Reception and watched a Hula dancer. Then we got back in the car to find groceries to fill our cooler. We got some snacks and breakfast food for the rest of the trip. Now we're hanging out by the pool reading and stealing the Lobby internet.

Tomorrow we're going white water rafting which I've been looking forward to the entire time. I really hope that we have somewhat difficult rapids and not totally lame waves. The Indiana girls bought me the ugliest shoes I've ever seen and I actually found some shorts to match but I'm not bold enough to pull off the look. The golf outfit for the GGC golf outing was about my limit for ridiculous. I'll get a pic of the shoes before they float away on the Arkansas River in a fitting procession.

Now in search for a waterproof camera.

JL,

E